The present invention is directed to a safety razor implement, and more particularly to a blade assembly to be employed in a shaving implement of this type.
Razor blade assemblies have been disclosed wherein cutter edge portions of the blade means are held between skin engaging surfaces which are generally referred to as the guard and cap of the razor blade assembly. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,070 issued Apr. 3, 1973 in the name of Francis W. Dorian, Jr. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 419,202 filed Sept. 17, 1982 in the name of Chester F. Jacobson and U.S. patent applicant Ser. No. 519,565 filed Aug. 2, 1983 in the name of Chester F. Jacobson, there are disclosed safety razor blade assemblies which have blade means individually movable within the blade assemblies in response to forces encountered during shaving operations. Blade assemblies of this type are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,255 issued May 6, 1986 in the name of Chester Jacobson and U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,634 issued Apr. 5, 1983 to Chester F. Jacobson.
In the aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,586,255 and 4,378,634, the blade members are independently movable in response to forces encountered during the shaving operation by virtue of their being supported by spring finger biasing members integral with the body member, which exercise a bias against the blades during the shaving operation.
In the construction wherein the blade support spring finger biasing members are formed integral with the body member, it is necessary to choose a material for the body member which demonstrates the proper qualities to provide a spring member, yet will demonstrate those qualities of durability necessary to provide a suitable housing for the blades, the cap and guard portion of the blade assembly. While plastic materials have been found which contain these particular qualities, regardless of the plastic which is used in the housing, when employed as a spring the material is susceptible to creep to a greater degree than that of a metal such as spring steel. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a razor blade assembly wherein the blade or blades are mounted for relative movement in a body member which assembly is an improvement over those blade assemblies of the prior art.
It is a further of the invention to provide a razor blade assembly wherein the blade means are provided with a spring means on the base portion thereof which is effective to permit the blade or blades to move individually within the blade assembly in response to forces encountered during the shaving operation.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a razor blade assembly wherein the blade or blades are so constructed that the extent of deflection of the blade or blades relative to the body member is substantially controllable from one assembly to another.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a razor blade assembly having a blade means which are supported in a body member and are so constructed as to allow the deflection of the blade relative to the body member to be simply calculated.